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CWCG The Confederacy
Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Clone Wars Campaign Guide Affiliation Page: The Confederacy of Independent Systems Although the Republic prides itself on being the known galaxy's bright center of civilization, it is, like all too many civilizations, beset by corruption and internal conflict. The erosion of principles and the failure of policy creates a divide between wealthy worlds and the poor worlds, between the influential and the ignored, between those who have and those who want. Too many Republic Senators succumb to the vices that are eroding the institution for which they stand. With so many morally bankrupt politicians, and so many more becoming corrupted by their post, the Senate becomes too weak and too greedy to do what is right. Whole systems suffer because their representatives face an insurmountable wall of apathy, or because their representatives are too busy lining their pockets to care. Senators who take a stand against the corruption- who risk their careers to fight inequality- quickly learn that the rest of the Senate has no use for them. And so they turn to new leadership. Influential outsiders such as Count Dooku convince frustrated Senators to abandon the Republic to join the Separatist movement, taking their worlds and systems with them. These Senators are easily convinced that the Republic is a lost cause. Drawn together by their idealism and cynicism, they forge an alliance apart from the Republic, devoted to restoring equality and ending strife on their respective worlds. Dooku's words stir the hearts of many, though he thinks of himself as merely an advisor rather than a leader. When "The Confederacy of Independent Systems" swells to over a thousand member worlds, Count Dooku reveals that he had once been a Jedi- and had left The Jedi Order for many of the same reasons that the Separatists had left the Republic. The fact that a Jedi Master is just as disillusioned with the Republic as they are lends the Separatists a great deal more conviction, and gives them the final bit of encouragement they need to challenge the Republic militarily as well as politically. The constituent members of The Confederacy of Independent Systems have no clue that Count Dooku has become Darth Tyranus, the new ally and apprentice of Darth Sidious. Sidious casts the Republic loyalists and the Separatists into war with the foreknowledge that neither side will survive the conflict intact- that both The Galactic Republic and The Confederacy of Independent Systems are to be sacrificed for the creation of The Galactic Empire. Organisation Over ten thousand systems flock to the Separatist cause, even if not all of them commit to joining The Confederacy of Independent Systems. When they first unite around a common need to defend themselves against pirates and raiders (Such as the Nebula Front). they share technology for building private armies for self-defense. When the Republic refuses to provide any real assistance, the Separatists begin to evolve from a group of malcontents with similar goals to a full-blown political movement with views and expectations radically different from those of their parent organization- and combined forces numbering in the quadrillions. The Commerce Factions The Confederacy of Independent Systems has a strong core membership consisting of several associated commercial organizations: the greedy Trade Federation, the bureaucratic Commerce Guild, the ambitious Corporate Alliance, the enigmatic Techno Union, the opportunistic InterGalactic Banking Clan, the hivelike labor pool of Geonosian Industries, and the galaxy-spanning Retail Caucus. Each has reasons for supporting separation from the Republic, which, cumulatively, provide the Confederacy with the resources it needs to form a political body strong enough to secede. They all know that supporting the Separatist movement is an end to their lucrative relations with the Republic; they have all weighed the risks and decided that following Count Dooku is the best strategy for optimizing their profits. The level of support among the commerce factions for the Separatists is mixed, however. Each has its own reasons for joining- and its own price. The Retail Caucus The Retail Caucus is a conglomerate of hundreds of corporations that specialize in commercial goods created for public consumption. Before the outbreak of the Clone Wars, the Retail Caucus is largely a financial institution, managing the money and investments of its component companies, which specialize in the creation and distribution of consumer goods. Prior to the Battle of Naboo, the Retail Caucus has very little in the way of military resources, relying on the Trade Federation to ship and protect its goods. Count Dooku first approaches the Retail Caucus primarily for financial backing. Seeing a chance to make an investment that could payoff in the future, the Retail Caucus fronts the credits to fund dozens of clandestine Battle Droid and Starship manufacturing plants across the galaxy. In exchange, the Retail Caucus receives 10% of all of the military materiel produced by these manufacturing facilities, resulting in a new military power almost overnight. The Trade Federation The Trade Federation, under the leadership of Viceroy Nute Gunray, feels cheated by the backlash over its occupation of Naboo- which was, technically speaking, perfectly legal- and they are awaiting an opportunity to recoup some of their considerable losses from the reparations they were forced to pay to Naboo and the Gungans. The Commerce Guild The Commerce Guild comes to the Confederacy in secret. As the most influential commodities broker in the Republic, it knows all too well that too much pressure here or there can severely unbalance the market, costing hundreds of trillions of credits. But after a few of the more cagey prospective members of the Confederacy die in convenient accidents, Commerce Guild President Shu Mai- a Gossam, from the world of Castell- decides that she can play both sides of the conflict without arousing the ire of either; both the Republic and the Confederacy need ore and minerals and bulk produce, particularly in wartime. The Corporate Alliance The Corporate Alliance- the organization in charge of regulating sales and distribution throughout the galaxy- knows all along that the Republic will not miss them if they leave; there will always be someone else more than eager to fill their seats in the Senate. But its Magistrate, Passel Argente, is a Koorivar- a Species driven from its adopted homeworld by a Republic resolution that ceded the planet to another Species over two thousand years before the Battle of Naboo. The Koorivars have never forgiven the Republic for the grievous injury, so Magistrate Argente feels no compunctions whatsoever about joining the Separatist movement, pledging the Corporate Alliance wholeheartedly to The Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Techno Union The galaxy's foremost developer of emerging technologies, including advanced engineering and microelectronics, the Techno Union is strongly devoted to the Separatist agenda. Represented by Wat Tambor, a Skakoan, the Techno Union incorporates Haor Chall Engineering, Republic Sienar Systems, Kuat Systems Engineering, and TaggeCo, among others. The combined technological acumen of these cutting-edge corporations is unparalleled in the Republic- though many of the Techno Union's best and brightest chose not to commit to the Confederacy, including BlasTech Industries and the Corellian Engineering Corporation. The InterGalactic Banking Clan Based on Muunilinst, the InterGalactic Banking Clan supports The Confederacy of Independent Systems- but not exclusively. The enigmatic Chairman of the IGBC, San Hill, feels that denying the Republic the services provided by the InterGalactic Banking Clan- the administration of loans and interest rates, and the regulation of investment market prices- will only put the Republic in a position where it has no choice but to fight until the bitter end. If allowed to view the independent systems as friendly competitors, rather than enemies, the Republic will be much more willing to concede the war and let those systems secede, in order to preserve its own financial stability. Geonosian Industries The Geonosians have always felt slighted by the Republic's refusal to accept the supremacy of their Queen- despite most humanoids' lack of wings (A clear sign that the galaxy's other Species are of inferior castes). The Geonosians' archduke, Poggle the Lesser, is impressed by Count Dooku's deference toward the Geonosian Queen Caste, so he pledges every last one of his Species' underground factories to the Separatist cause and offers his homeworld as a meeting place for the other trade faction representatives. The Sith At the top of the Separatist hierarchy- and kept carefully hidden from both sides- are The Sith: Darth Tyranus and his dark master, Darth Sidious. Under Darth Sidious's sinister tutelage, Darth Tyranus (Count Dooku) spends ten years manipulating a minor political movement into a full-blown secessionist front while Sidious maneuvers the Republic loyalists into declaring all-out war. Darth Sidious adheres to a tradition of secrecy imposed by The Sith a thousand years before, working his evil schemes through intermediaries and dupes while remaining hidden in the shadows. His organization includes politicians and anarchists, crime lords and corrupt law enforcement, schemers and dreamers, the wealthy and the impoverished- and, as the war draws to a close, the most powerful Jedi Knight alive: Anakin Skywalker. Sidious recruits the disillusioned Count Dooku shortly after the Jedi Master leaves The Jedi Order over an ill-fated mission to the world of Galidraan. A suave and charismatic speaker, Dooku makes the ideal figurehead for the Separatists: a dynamic orator with a strong desire to see the Republic made to serve its most influential constituents, without all the inconvenient public safety rules and annoying trade regulations. Much of his own philosophy has formed the core of Separatist views, and it is little wonder that they flock to his side. However, like all of Sidious's apprentices, Dooku is expendable. In fact, the Sith philosophy is for an apprentice to continually prove himself. If the apprentice does not survive, they can be replaced- often by whoever killed the apprentice. This is the case with Darth Tyranus- slain by the Jedi Anakin Skywalker, who soon replaces Dooku as Sidious's new apprentice, Darth Vader. The Combined Confederacy Initially, the Separatist forces are five independent armies working toward a common goal but without an overall strategy, or even a unified battle plan. The first several battle actions, including the Battle of Geonosis, are basically free-for-all engagements, won (Or survived) merely because the Separatists have the advantage of greater numbers than their Grand Army opponents. In time, Count Dooku convinces the various factions to combine their military forces, enabling the Separatist Droid Army to team Trade Federation B1-Series Battle Droids with Commerce Guild OG-9 Homing Spider Droids, for example, or Techno Union Octuptarra Combat Tri-Droids with Corporate Alliance [[NR-N99 Persuader-Class Droid Enforcers|NR-N99 Persuader-Class Droid Enforcers]], making for a more effective and well-rounded Separatist military. But Dooku recognizes early on that he is not the best general for such an army, and he recruits numerous tacticians, commanders, and, in some cases, particularly aggressive figureheads to lead the Separatist forces into battle: the Chiss general Sev'rance Tann, the Sith Apprentice Asajj Ventress, and the brutish cyborg Durge. None of these, however, combine all the qualities needed to ensure victory for the Confederacy, until Dooku persuades the Kaleesh cyborg Grievous to take command. General Grievous turns the war around for the Separatists and slowly pushes the conflict right to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's very doorstep, abducting Palpatine and nearly capturing Coruscant in the process. The Separatist Droid Army The Separatists' military consists of organic and Droid forces from all five of the original signatory members of The Confederacy of Independent Systems- the Commerce Guild, the InterGalactic Banking Clan, the Corporate Alliance, the Techno Union, and the Trade Federation- and a number of other aligned systems and worlds as well. Organized at first into individual forces, they eventually combine under General Grievous's leadership into a single fighting force of extraordinary magnitude. Separatist Ground Forces At its inception, the Separatists' forces are divided into five major orders of battle, and numerous minor orders of battle: the Commerce Guild's "Punitive Security Forces"; the Corporate Alliance's Policy Administration Directorate; the InterGalactic Banking Clan's Collections and Security Division; the Techno Union's Droid Army; the Trade Federation's Droid Army; and countless other security forces, law enforcement agencies, and private armies. Under General Grievous, each of these orders was reorganized into more efficient armies, each with specific purposes for which different combinations of forces are required. Commerce Guild Punitive Security Forces The Commerce Guild employs a force of security personnel and Battle Droids whose major function is to keep the Commerce Guild's member worlds and systems in line. The organic personnel generally work separately from the Droids, though most of the Commerce Guild's Droid forces are commanded and maintained by Gossams. The command structure of the Commerce Guild's organic forces follows a similar command structure to the Republic's special forces. * Squad (6 Officers): A Squad consists of six Gossam security officers (Usually Gossam Commandos), one of whom acts as a Squad Leader. * Troop (36 Officers): A Troop consists of six Squads, including six Squad Leaders. They are generally led by a single Gossam with the title of Security Chief. * Division (216 Officers plus support personnel): A Company consists of 6 Troops, led by six Security Chiefs and a Division Commander. The Commerce Guild's Droid forces are arranged by type of Droid. * Advanced DSD Unit: This Unit consists of one A-DSD Advanced Dwarf Spider Droid and a support group of one Squad of B1-Series Battle Droids or B2-Series Super Battle Droids. * Spelunker Probe Droid Unit: This unit includes five Spelunker Probe Droids. Forces of up to 20 Units are sometimes fielded to handle particularly tough targets. * Dwarf Spider Droid Unit: DSD1 Dwarf Spider Droids usually operate in groups of four, or in forces of 2-5 Units. * Heavy Dwarf Spider Droid Unit: A-DSD Advanced Dwarf Spider Droids usually operate in groups of four, or in forces of 2-5 Units. * OG-9 Homing Spider Droid Unit: OG-9 Homing Spider Droids are almost always fielded singly, though usually with an escort of four DSD1 Dwarf Spider Droids (Which also act as spotters). Corporate Alliance Policy Administration Directorate The Corporate Alliance maintains a small security force, the Koorivar Fusiliers, whose job is primarily to guard Alliance facilities against sabotage and industrial espionage. Like the Commerce Guild, though, they also have a sizeable force of Droids, composed entirely of their devastating [[NR-N99 Persuader-Class Droid Enforcers|NR-N99 Persuader-Class Droid Enforcers]]. The Koorivar Fusiliers have a command structure similar to the Grand Army's, though not quite as extensive. Much of the Fusiliers' armed might relies on artillery emplacements, which are always crewed by two fusilier engineers and a crew leader. * Squad (12 Fusiliers): The Fusilier's smallest group is the Squad, led by a Sergeant. * Platoon (36 Fusiliers): A Platoon consists of 3 Squads, led by a Lieutenant. * Company (108 Fusiliers plus support personnel): A Company consists of 3 Platoons, led by a Captain. * Battalion (324 Fusiliers plus support personnel): A Battalion consists of 3 Companies, led by a Colonel. * Regiment (972 Fusiliers plus support personnel): A Regiment consists of 3 Battalions, led by a General. The Corporate Alliance's Droid units consist entirely of Squads of 2-4 [[NR-N99 Persuader-Class Droid Enforcers|NR-N99 Persuader-Class Droid Enforcers]]. Geonosian Hive Army While the Geonosians lack a formal military, their Warrior Caste is usually sufficient to deal with most criminal or security issues. As part of a hive society, the Warrior Caste is tightly organized under individual members of the Queen Caste, and require no further command structure: a Geonosian Warrior serves his queen and takes orders from no one else (Though Archduke Poggle has considerable influence over his queen, and can usually expect his requests to be commuted into orders by the queen within moments). In battle, Geonosian Warriors simply throw themselves at opponents in whatever numbers they have at hand; they have no concept of squads, ranks, or orders of battle. An encounter with Geonosian troops might be with a handful of Geonosian Warriors, a swarm of Geonosian Elite Warriors, the reverse, or any combination in between. InterGalactic Banking Clan Collections and Security Division The IGBC's Collections and Security Division's primary purpose prior to the outset of the war is to collect overdue debts and provide security for IGBC facilities and the clan's officers. They are organized into two different groups: the organic Muun Guard and IG-Series Lancer Droids, and the IG-100 MagnaGuard "Elites." The Muun Guard and IG-Series Lancer Droid units are structured exactly the same way, while IG-100 MagnaGuards are produced in such low numbers that they need no command structure; they merely follow the orders of their programmed masters. * Squad (9 soldiers): A Squad consists of 9 Soldiers (Muun guards or IG-Series Lancer Droids). Either type of group is led by a Muun Guard Sergeant. * Troop (45 soldiers): A Troop consists of 5 Squads, coordinated under a Muun Guard Lieutenant. * Brigade (225 soldiers plus support personnel): A Brigade consists of 5 troops and a section of 5 [[IG-227 Hailfire-Class Droid Tanks|IG-227 Hailfire-Class Droid Tanks]], led by a Muun Guard Captain. * Division (1,125 soldiers plus support personnel): A Group consists of 5 Brigades, led by a Muun Guard Colonel. Techno Union Droid Army Shortly before joining the Separatist movement, the Techno Union restructures to more closely resemble the Trade Federation, in a successful effort to gain membership in the Galactic Senate. As a result, most of the organization of the Techno Union's armed forces is modeled after the Trade Federation's (See below), with minor differences based on the specific units available. The chief differences lie in the types of units. While the main Battle Droid forces are virtually identical, the Techno Union utilizes a number of specialized Droid types in its army. * LM-432 Crab Droid Unit (3 Droids): A Crab Droid Unit consists of 3 LM-432 Assault Crab Droids of the same size. * Octuptarra Tri-Droid Unit (3 Droids): An Octuptarra Tri-Droid Unit consists of 3 Octuptarra Combat Tri-Droids. * Spelunker Probe Droid Unit: This Unit includes five Spelunker Probe Droids. Forces of up to 12 Units are sometimes fielded to handle particularly tough targets. Trade Federation Droid Army The Trade Federation creates its Droid Army initially for security purposes, but quickly puts it to use invading and occupying Naboo. Although they are ordered to disarm after their defeat by the combined Naboo-Gungan forces, the Trade Federation merely transfers most of its materiel to subsidiary corporations- only to transfer it back, years later, in time to pledge its Droid forces to The Confederacy of Independent Systems. The command structure of the Trade Federation's Droid Army is profoundly simple: Battle Droids report to Droid Officers, and Droid Officers report to their organic commanders. * AAT Crew (4 Droids): An AAT crew consists of 4 OOM-Series Battle Droids. * MTT Crew (4 Droids): An MTT crew consists of 4 OOM-Series Battle Droids. * Troop Carrier Crew (2 Droids): A PAC crew consists of 2 OOM-Series Battle Droids. * Squad (8 Battle Droids): A Squad consists of eight Battle Droids. Because the Droids are controlled by a Remote Processor, no Squad Leader is required. * Platoon (56 Battle Droids): A Platoon consists of 7 Squads. * Company (112 Battle Droids plus support Droids): A Company consists of 2 Platoons transported on either an MTT or a PAC, under the direct command of a Battle Droid Officer. * Battalion (784 Battle Droids plus support Droids): A Battalion consists of 7 Companies and a reinforced Squadron of 24 AATs, under the direct command of a Battle Droid Officer. * Vanguard (1,232 Battle Droids plus support Droids): Intended for breaking through heavy defenses to deploy Battle Droids, a vanguard consists of 11 MTT companies and a squadron of 18 AATs, under the direct command of a Battle Droid Officer. * Regiment (4,368 Battle Droids plus support Droids): A Regiment consists of 4 Battalions and 1 Vanguard, under the direct command of a Battle Droid Officer. A Regiment is the total force carried aboard a C-9979 Landing Craft. * Division (21,840 Battle Droids plus support Droids): A Division consists of a 5 Regiments carried aboard a Section of 5 C-9979 Landing Crafts. * Corps (109,200 Battle Droids plus support Droids): A Corps consists of a 5 Divisions carried aboard a Squadron of 25 C-9979 Landing Crafts. * Army (218,400 Battle Droids plus support Droids): An Army consists of 2 Corps, the total surface force carried aboard a Lucrehulk-Class Battleship under the command of a Trade Federation Captain. The Separatist Droid Army Once combined, the individual elements of the commerce factions' military organizations form the mighty Separatist Droid Army: over a quadrillion Droids in total (Including the vast numbers of support Droids necessary to keep such a large force operational), all of which are ultimately answerable to the cunning Kaleesh cyborg General Grievous. Reporting directly to Grievous are the various military leaders of the commerce factions, while the heads of the factions collectively act as an advisory council, with Count Dooku as their leader (Much the way Supreme Chancellor Palpatine leads the Galactic Senate). The Separatist Droid Army has no true order of battle due to the completely separate militaries that comprise it; instead, task forces are assembled as needed from available units. The genius of General Grievous is his ability to coordinate radically different force structures in a way that keeps the Republic off balance at the strategic level. Tactically, however, these incompatible command structures result in profound inefficiency and chain-of-command confusion, the result being that the Republic can usually outfight the Separatists even when badly outnumbered. Army Command Structure The Confederacy has a simple but effective command structure. Droid Officers command Droid troops, and organic officers command Droid Officers. The concept of individual ranks is largely wasted on Separatist Droids, who are simply programmed to obey their officers. Even the organic troops often have no more official place in the rank structure than "Foot Soldier" or "Squad Leader." Only those organics who are part of preexisting armed forces tend to have traditional ranks such as Private, Lieutenant, Colonel, and so on. But all report to their respective superiors, and, eventually and ultimately, to General Grievous. Grievous, in turn, reports to Count Dooku, who does the bidding of Darth Sidious. Separatist Naval Fleet The Separatists have a sizeable armada of ships well before hostilities with The Galactic Republic begin- from the blockade fleet of the Trade Federation to the war fleet of the Commerce Guild. Unlike the ground forces, though, the Separatists' ships are crewed almost entirely by living beings- though Maintenance and Astromech Droids are common, and the Neimoidians and Skakoans rely heavily on Droid crews on all their ships. The Separatist Admiralty Like their ground forces, the Confederacy Navy begins as separate corporate fleets of the various commerce factions, only to be later combined under General Grievous. The organization changes little during the transition but grows in size. The command structure of the Separatist admiralty consists of five groups. * Section (2-4 Vessels, plus maintenance and support crew): The smallest group in the Separatist Admiralty is the Section, commanded by a Captain. * Flight (4-16 Vessels, plus maintenance and support crew): A Flight consists of 2-4 Sections, commanded by a Commodore. * Squadron (12-64 Vessels, plus maintenance and support crew): A Squadron consists of 3-4 Flights, led by a Commodore. * Task Group (36-640 Vessels, plus maintenance and support crew): A Task Group consists of 3-10 Squadrons, led by a Rear Admiral. * Task Force (72-1,280 Vessels, plus maintenance and support crew): A Task Force consists of 2 Task Groups, led by a Vice Admiral. * Fleet (200-4,000 Vessels, plus maintenance and support crew): A Fleet consists of 3 Task Groups, led by an Admiral. * Admiralty: The Separatist Admiralty consists of hundreds of individual Fleets, under the command of General Grievous. Admiralty Command Structure The Admiralty's hierarchy is similar to the Separatist Droid Army's- gunnery crew, gunnery officers, communication and tactical officers, pilots (Or pilot Droids). navigational officers, bridge officers, ship captains, and group commanders. In addition, the command structure includes positions for multiple noncommand specialists: medical officers; deck officers; and fighter pilots, in many cases, Droid Starfighters. Officers in the Admiralty are organic, except for a small percentage of Battle Droid Officers. Personnel See also: CIS Nonheroic Units The Separatists' Droid Army is vast, but its military includes great numbers of organic warriors as well. The Geonosians are among the Separatists' earliest and most fanatical followers, and Trandoshan mercenaries often work with the Confederacy (With unofficial encouragement from their leaders). Influential Figures See also: CIS Heroic Units In every war, battles are decided by the actions of a few brave individuals. But those battles are not fought except at the bidding of the army's commanders- and, above them, their civilian leadership. For the Republic, this means The Jedi and the Galactic Senate. For the Separatists, the leadership comes down to a handful of individuals: the Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress, the mad cyborg Durge, the merciless tactician General Grievous, and, above them, the charismatic Count Dooku. But even Dooku answers to an even higher authority: the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Unlike The Jedi who lead the Grand Army of the Republic, the Separatist commanders fight the war with vengeance in their hearts; each has a reason to hate the enemy, and, in at least two cases, a bloodlust that almost makes them more effective assassins than commanders. Although Grievous sees the war as a tactical equation to be solved, Ventress and Durge see it as an opportunity to settle old scores; for them, the war cannot go on long enough. For Count Dooku, the end of the war means the end of his charade with his Sith Master. When the war is over, there will no longer be a need to pretend that Darth Sidious and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine are two different people- neither of whom are otherwise necessary to The Confederacy of Independent Systems. Dooku can dispatch Sidious and become the new Sith Master... and the ruler of the new Sith Empire. Confederacy Droids See also: CIS Nonheroic Units Armed with the material of the Trade Federation, the Techno Union, and Geonosian Industries- and the financial resources of the InterGalactic Banking Clan and the Commerce Guild- The Confederacy of Independent Systems is well-suited to generating vast Droid Armies. Droid Colors Unlike the Grand Army's color-coded ranking system, the Separatist's Droid Army only has two rank distinctions: commanders and troops. However, specialized Battle Droids are often painted in other colors so that organic personnel can easily tell them apart. This practice is mainly confined to OOM-Series Battle Droids and B1-Series Battle Droids. Other Droids- such as the Droideka-Series Destroyer Droid, IG-Series Lancer Droid, and even the B2-Series Super Battle Droid- do not use the same conventions for insignia. * Droid Officer: Yellow * Security Droid: Red * Pilot/Technician Droid: Blue * Battle Droid: None 4th-Degree Droids The category of 4th-Degree Droids encompasses most of the Droid Army: Battle Droids, Super Battle Droids, Assassin Droids, and so on. With the ability to manufacture new troops at a rate of thousands per day in the Geonosis factories alone, The Confederacy of Independent Systems has a distinct numerical advantage over the Republic's Grand Army. And, in addition, their new experiments and prototypes can simply be shut down if they prove unstable- something that is a bit more difficult for the Kaminoan cloners to do with their own failures. The major contributors to the Droid Army are, of course, the Trade Federation, with their OOM-Series Battle Droids, and the Geonosians, with their underground Droid factories pumping out B1-Series Battle Droids and B2-Series Super Battle Droids for the Separatist cause. Meanwhile, the Techno Union suggests Improvements upon the other factions' basic designs and provides a steady stream of new weapons and equipment to be field-tested under actual battle conditions. With so many different factions and Species supplying Drolds for the war, the Separatists' forces are understandably diverse; even the lowly Battle Droid comes in all shapes and sizes, based upon the design goals of their creators. Confederacy Vehicles See also: CIS Vehicles The Confederacy of Independent Systems has a distinct advantage over the Grand Army of the Republic in that many of the corporations that had military contracts with the Republic were among the first to defect to the Separatist movement. Many of the Vehicles described below are Droid-controlled and do not require organic crews to operate. Weapon Systems Separatist Vehicle Weapons share many traits in common with Starship Weapon Systems; the two are frequently interchangeable. This allows Weapon Systems to be employed against Starships and enables weapons factories to combine production for a wide variety of final uses. Below is one such weapon used during the Clone Wars. Speeders Wheeled Vehicles Walkers Tracked Vehicles Airspeeders Confederacy Starships See also: CIS Vehicles All of the major factions that comprise The Confederacy of Independent Systems, including the Techno Union, the Commerce Guide, the Trade Federation, and the InterGalactic Banking Clan, have fleets of ships at their command and access to vast resources with which to build more. Space Transports Starfighters Capital Ships